As the war ignited by the missiles striking Tehran on February 28 now enters its seventh day, it’s clear that it has shattered a fragile regional order and plunged the global economy into a state of high-voltage uncertainty. For India, a country whose energy security and millions of citizens are inextricably linked to the stability of the Gulf, this is not “foreign news”. It is a direct threat to our national interests and our aspirations for growth and development.

Analysts have been struggling to discern a coherent logic for this conflict. The tenets of international law don’t justify it: The bedrock of the UN Charter is respect for the sovereignty of states and the inviolability of their borders; the use of force is prohibited. There are narrow exceptions for self-defence and Security Council authorisation, yet neither condition has been met. To claim “pre-emptive self-defence” against a nation that was actively engaged in the most promising diplomatic negotiations in a decade is a legal stretch. Compounding this violation is the precisely conducted elimination of the heart of the Iranian leadership, shattering the unwritten but long-respected convention that heads of state and government are never militarily targeted in warfare. By discarding this norm, the US and Israel have not only disregarded convention but risked chaos. “I got him before he got me,” President Donald Trump said of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Any future outcome risks being marinated in blood feuds rather than statesmanship.

The irony of “Epic Fury” is that its proclaimed objective — denying Iran a nuclear weapon — had, according to Omani mediators, already been achieved through ongoing diplomatic negotiations. Just days before the strikes, significant progress had been reported........

© Indian Express